The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were little changed ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. trade will be in focus on Wednesday, with data due on import and export prices and on the current account deficit.

Trade tensions with China were in the spotlight Tuesday, as President Obama announced that the United States, Japan and Western European countries would file a trade complaint against China over export restrictions on rare earth minerals.

But the Federal Reserve said Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Metlife (MET, Fortune 500), SunTrust (STI, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial would likely need new capital from either investors or the government in an adverse economic scenario.

In premarket trading Wednesday, Citi shares were down more than 3%. Meanwhile, some firms that passed got a boost. Shares of Regions Financial (RF, Fortune 500) were up almost 4%.

Earlier in the day, the Fed offered a relatively upbeat assessment of the economy in a statement from its key policymaking committee.

Economy: The U.S. current account deficit for the fourth quarter is expected to stand at $113.8 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.